Railway wagon

ABSTRACT

The invention consists of a railway wagon body made of metal which has curved sides suspended from longitudinal stringers to eliminate side stiffeners and heavy floor plates to effect a saving in manufacturing cost and in tare weight to increase the pay load. The body is supported on curved bolsters adjacent each end and is internally strengthened by means of bulkheads.

United States Pat ent 9 1 1 1 Eislers Dec. 4, 1973 [54] RAILWAY WAGON 3,253,556 5/1966 Glaser et a1 105 406 R 3,490,387 1 1970 Halcomb 105 406 R [75] v'svaldls w- New 3,467,027 9 1969 Brown 105 362 South Wales, Australia 1,595,152 8 1926 Grindle... 214 64 1,424,479 8 1922 Hurst 214 64 [73] Asslgnee. Comalco Limited, Melbourne,

Victoria Australia 2,121,365 6/1938 Pardee, Jr. 214 62 R [22] Filed: 1972 Primary Examiner-Robert G. Sheridan Assistant Examiner-Richard A. Bertsch AttorneyHarold L. Stowell et a1.

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Mar. 2, 1971 Australia PA 4187 [57] ABSTRACT [52] US Cl 105/406 R The invention consists of a railway wagon body made 51 int. c1.. B6ld 17/00 metal which has curved Sides Suspended fmm longi- [58] Field of 105/404 405 409 tudinal stringers to eliminate side stifieners and heavy R, 'flOOl' plateS t0 efibct 3. Saving in manufacturing COSlI 7 and in tare weight to increase the pay load. The body 56] References Cited is supported on curved bolsters adjacent each end and UNITED STATES PATENTS is internally strengthened by means of bulkheads. 1,579,673 4 1926 Tench et aim, 105 406 R 5 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures f 5% 4 "56 62" II T 40 4o 38 58 53 1 21 CH 1 74 l 44 z 76 72 h 41 12 l if rm L '16 i 1 L7. 1 37. l0 5 i/ \5 SHEET 10? 3 PATENTEU DEC 4 I975 PMENTEB DEF. 4 I975 SHEET REF 3 omies achieved in vehicle weight-enable additional" loadsto be carried without additional"transportcosts;

One effective means ofreducing: vvel'riclezweight is to use light metals such as aluminium alloys wherever possible in place of the steel previously -used but;..in '-genera], the design of wagons usingv aluminium alloyshasmerely followed the design of steel wagons without any real attempt being made to redesign so"tl'fatmaxirnum weigh't savings can be achieved.

It is an object of this invention to provide a' railwayw wagon of reduced weight compared withwa'gonsaprevia ously manufactured.

A subsidiary-object of the invention 'is toprovide a rotarytype dump wagon (i.e., awa'gon'which"nraygbe': placed in a roll-over mechanism'forunloading) having the above advantage.

The wagon of the invention canb'evconstructed' pri marily from aluminium alloysto-achieve maximumweight saving, but it will be realised that theadesign is also applicable to steel constructionand particularly-to wagons constructed from high tensile. steelz According to the invention there is providedxa-raih way wagon body comprising a longitudinal centre:sill;- a-bolster of curved cradle formation supported from said sill at or'adjacent each of itsends, a sk'in 'orshell having its lower area of curved configurationitto'match Alternatively the upper edgesofithe' channels 12may be provided with integrally-extruded additionalflanges 18 as illustrated in FIG. 4, exte'ndingin the opposite-.di rection to thestandard channel: flanges and providing steps 20on the upper surfacesof the channels for a purpose which will hereinafter appear. The free edges ofchannels l8are placed in abuttingrelationshipand welded together.

Adjacent each end of the sill 10 flanges 24, 26 with apair of spaced connecting webs 2851f so desired, the lower plates 16 of the sill section 10 may .belocated only adjacent the bolsters 22 and ap-' propriate bridging connections 32 may be welded to the lowerpartsof the channel sections at spaced locations in the length of'the sill.

The body shell- 34 is supported on the bolsters 22 and hasa curved configuration substantially throughout. In

cross-section, proceeding from the centre line of the the curve of said bolsters, a plurality of 'spaced1-bulkheads. welded transversely of "and "within said skin" or shell, the external configuration of' each bulkhead being substantially identical with the: required crosssectional internal shape of the shell; each bulk-head. extending upwardly substantially to the'upper extremity of the shell at least adjacent each side' of the shell," and I a longitudinal stringer on each side ofsaid wagon sup-- ported from said bulkheads, the upper'sections of said shell being curved inwardly and I connected to said stringers.

.ln order that the invention may be more readily-understood, it will now be described 'bywayof example with reference'to a particularembodiment, illustrated:

in the accompanying drawings,- wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a wagon according to the in-- vention.

FIG. 2'is a side elevationalview of th'e wagon partly The wagon of this embodimenthasacentre sill-10 which is preferably a box section made up from apair of spaced, extruded aluminium sections in the form of 1 channels 12 arranged with their webs-14in an vertical plane. The lower flanges of the channels are connected 1 by welding to a plate 16 and theupper flanges maybe similarly connected. i

wagon, the shell hasa substantially flat base where it sits on the sill 10 'and fora short distance beyond the sill j: The shell'then follows a relatively small radius throughan angle ofapproximately 90 to the point of greatest width. The upper section of the shell curves inwardly at a greater radius.

The sides of the shell are connected at their upper edges to longitudinal stringers 36, and the overall curve selected for the shell is such that, assuming the wagon to be fully loaded and the shell to be substantially supported from said stringers, the stress in the shell approachespure tension-with little if any bending stress. This'enables the thicknessof the skin to be reduced to the minimum subject'topractical considerations such as thewear and tear andknocks'which railway wagons receive in use; v

The ends 38 6f the shell may be of curved configuration asseen in plan view, but are preferaby straight and I slope inwardly from their upper edges towards their lower edges as illustrated in the drawings.

The shape of the shell is set and maintained by means of intemalbulkheads 40; Each bulkhead in the present a case is'substantiallyin the shape of a horseshoe having: a relatively heavy spreader section in the lower area of the shell and tapering upwardly at each side of the shell to the upper edges of the latter-to act as supports for stringers 36. The outer surface of each bulkhead 40 is shaped to conform to the required internal shape of the shelli Each bulkhead is of box section consisting of a pair of spaced plates 42-upstanding from the internal surface of the shell and with a cover plate 44 welded to the free edges of plates 42. In the lower section of the shell cover-plate 44 isarranged substantially parallel to the inner surface of the shell but approaches more closely to the shell in its upperarea where plates'42 are tapered.= The box section is closed on each side of the shell bya narrow longitudinal plate 46.

The shell extends substantially the full length of the sill as seenin FIG. 2and the end walls 38 of the body are welded inside the ends of the shell as also shown in FIG. 2' and are strengthened by horizontal stiffeners 58 of I-section welded horizontally across their end surfaces. The stiffeners are also welded to the internal surface of the shell. A pair-of transverse stringers 62 are welded to the ends of longitudinal stringers 36 and to the upper edges of the ends 38 of the shell. Preferably a bolster 22 of" curved cradle configuration is welded to the sill. Each: bolster is of box section, having upper and lower the longitudinal stringers are provided with grooves 64 as illustrated in FIG. 3 adapted to receive the upper edges of the shell. The shell is made in two halves, each of which has its upper edge engaged with one of the longitudinal stringers and its lower edge abutted against one of the shoulders 20 of sill 10.

Provision must be made to enable the wagon to be tipped by the unloading mechanism without damage to the body shell. The tipping mechanism usually includes a pair of vertically spaced horizontal beams arranged at each side of the track and adapted to be moved horizontally to engage the sides of the wagon preparatory to the tipping action. To resist the force applied by these beams, suitable arrangements are made in the area of each of the bulkheads. Preferably there are three such bulkheads, one in alignment with each of the two bolsters adjacent each end of the wagon, and the third located approximately at the centre of the length of the wagon. i

For engagement by the upper beam a number of longitudinal plates 70 are attached to the outer surface of the shell at the position at which the shell is approximately vertical, i.e., at the point of maximum outward projection of the shell. Plates 70 are preferably made of manganese steel for durability. In this case they are attached to the surface of the shell by means of bolts. In cases where plates 70 are made from an aluminium alloy they may be welded to the shell.

For engagement by the lower beam there is provided, adjacent each end of the shell, a pad 72 bolted or welded to each end of each bolster. In addition there .is provided adjacent the centre bulkhead a bracket 74 which is welded to the outersurface of the shell and which is provided with a pad 76.

It will be clear to those skilled in the art that the wagon described hereinabove makes very efficient use of the construction materials used and enables the weight of a wagon for a given volumetric capacity to be considerably reduced. It follows that, by use of the wagon of the invention, the pay load to be drawn by a ported from said sill at or. adjacent each of its ends, a"

skin or shell having its lower area of curved configuration to match the curve of said bolsters, a plurality of spaced bulkheads welded transversely of and within said skin or shell, the external configurationof each bulkhead being substantially identical with the required cross-sectional internal shape of the shell, each bulkhead extending upwardly substantially to the upper extremity of the shell at least adjacent each side of the shell, and a longitudinal stringer on each side of said wagon supported from said bulkheads, the upper sections of said shell being curved inwardly and connected to saidstringers.

2. A railway wagon body as claimed in claim I including three of said bulkheads, one substantially in alignment with each of said bolsters and the third located substantially mid-way between said bolsters.

3. A railway wagon body as claimed in claim I wherein the external configuration of each of said bulkheads comprises a substantially flat base connected with acurved section of relatively small radius through an angle of approximately and an upper section curving inwardly about a relatively large radius.

4. A railway wagon as claimed in claim 3 including a plurality of plates each attached by welding to the outer surface of said shell along its line of greatest outward projection and in alignment with'each side of each of saidbulkheads for engagement by an upper.

beam of a tipping mechanism and a plurality of plates attached to the outer extremities of said bolsters and to brackets arranged between said bolsters for engagement by a lower'beam of said tipping mechanism.

5. A railway wagon body as claimed in claim 1 having end walls which slope downwardly and inwardly and are welded within said shell. 

1. A railway wagon body comprising a longitudinal centre sill, a bolster of curved cradle formation supported from said sill at or adjacent each of its ends, a skin or shell having its lower area of curved configuration to match the curve of said bolsters, a plurality of spaced bulkheads welded transversely of and within said skin or shell, the external configuration of each bulkhead being substantially identical with the required cross-sectional internal shape of the shell, each bulkhead extending upwardly substantially to the upper extremity of the shell at least adjacent each side of the shell, and a longitudinal stringer on each side of said wagon supported from said bulkheads, the upper sections of said shell being curved inwardly and connected to said stringers.
 2. A railway wagon body as claimed in claim 1 including three of said bulkheads, one substantially in alignment with each of said bolsters and the third located substantially mid-way between said bolsters.
 3. A railway wagon body as claimed in claim 1 wherein the external configuration of each of said bulkheads comprises a substantially flat base connected with a curved section of relatively small radius through an angle of approximately 90*, and an upper section curving inwardly about a relatively large radius.
 4. A railway wagon as claimed in claim 3 including a plurality of plates each attached by welding to the outer surface of said shell along its line of greatest outward projection and in alignment with each side of each of said bulkheads for engagement by an upper beam of a tipping mechanism and a plurality of plates attached to the outer extremities of said bolsters and to brackets arranged between said bolsters for engagement by a lower beam of said tipping mechanism.
 5. A railway wagon body as claimed in claim 1 having end walls which slope downwardly and inwardly and are welded within said shell. 